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Martian Gothic: Unification
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Originally a PC title, this third person survival horror in the vein of Resident Evil would see a release on the PlayStation nearly a year after the PS2 was available in all markets. Because of this late launch, as well as graphics and a control scheme generally viewed as poor at the time of its release, it's been largely overlooked by the mainstream.
Here's a rough estimation of the plot:
"In Martian Gothic, the player is able to assume the roles of three characters sent from Earth to a Martian base to examine why it has been silent for 10 months, after a base member broadcasts a final message of "Stay alone, stay alive." Upon arrival the player finds that all the residents are apparently dead and that the base hides a horrible secret."
That's right, you play as three different characters with different abilities. While they all control the same and use the same weapons, each has skills required to pass the various puzzles or sections of the game. All three begin the game from different hatches on the base, and are not meant to come into contact with each other. If they do, that nasty unification bit occurs, and the characters are killed instantly. As for why that happens, don't worry, it will be explained in this bizarre Lovecraft-esque science fiction story.
[img width=619 height=448]http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/screenshots/ps/martiangothic/martiangothic_790screen001.jpg[/img]
Since the characters can never enter the same room together, items must be deposited in a series of vacuum tubes spread throughout the facility. Only four items can be put in the vacuum tubes at any time, and players can only hold limited items, so various item storage containers must be used. Unfortunately this means items can get lost and forgotten, though PC terminals will reveal what items are in certain containers around the base if necessary. You can still lose an item by putting it in the wrong location, so think before you stow something.
Maneuvering between these spots might also be difficult for some folks, as Martian Gothic uses the same "tank" control scheme used in the original Resident Evil, lending credence to the claim that this is just another poor RE clone. The game also uses pre-set camera angles, so enemies can sometimes be difficult to see(and it doesn't help that your basic enemy is a zombie). But Martian Gothic also borrows an interesting element from the first Alone in the Dark: you can't kill your enemies. You can put them down for a little while, but they do get back up eventually. This makes avoiding fights absolutely key, which can be extremely difficult in the cramped tunnels of the Mars colony. And even if you could kill some of these things, it's probably better to run from some of the nastier ones anyway.
To progress in the game, you'll have to listen to computer recordings, solve puzzles, and search corpses while making your way through the Mars base and eventually into Olympus Mons and both over and under the Martian surface. It's interesting to note that the game actually started life as a point-and-click adventure title for Windows, but was drastically rewritten and changed when author Stephen Marley(known for his Chia Black Dragon series) joined the cast as a game designer. This means there are lots of puzzles. And they're not easy, either.
The game wasn't exactly well received, getting a Metacritic score of 64. In other words, it's considered average, not spectacular. That said, it also tends to go for dirt cheap. While the Windows version was only released in the United States, the PlayStation version was put out in both the US and Europe.
Here's the intro to the PlayStation version:
I haven't heard anyone mention this classic NES title in what seems like years, so I thought I'd make it my job to drudge up any loving memories/haunting nightmares you guys may have that are related to Adventure Island.
[img width=400 height=550]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/adventureislandtitle.jpg[/img]
Continue reading Mnemonics: Adventure Island
Echo Night: Beyond
Since last week I went with a very well known title in horror gaming, I figured I'd go for something a little bit more obscure, and a bit more mellow. In fact, this odd futuristic ghost story is more sorrowful than anything else. That doesn't mean it's without it's freakier moments, but the gameplay in this title doesn't have all the big action sequences of other titles. It's also the third in the Echo Night series, so if you're familiar with those, you should know what to expect.
In Echo Night: Beyond, you play Richard Osmond, a passenger on a space shuttle heading to a small lunar base. His fiance, Claudia, lives there, and it's their intention to marry once he arrives. But things don't go according to plan. His shuttle crash lands, colliding with the very place you're trying to get. Richard awakens to find himself alone in the wrecked shuttle. He decides to grab a spacesuit and enter the base to find Claudia.
Unfortunately for Richard, it appears everyone inside the base is dead, the power is out, and ghosts are wandering the halls. To progress in the story, you'll have to find various items and appease the wandering spirits so that their souls get released from this mortal coil. To do this, you'll have to talk to them, which is a bit unsettling as they tend to fade in and out depending on how close you are. There's also lots of backtracking in the game, which can become annoying, though much of the game takes place around a central junction, so nothing is ever terribly far away.
[img width=460 height=325]http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/article/543/543209/echo-night-beyond-20040830043258046-000.jpg[/img]
So, you're wandering in the dark, there are corpses everywhere, and their ghosts are wandering around. Could it get worse? Well yes, actually. You see, there's a bizarre mist that has spread throughout the base, making ghosts that inhabit it hostile, and if they get near you for long enough, your heart rate will spike and you'll go into cardiac arrest. This means two things: every encounter can be fatal fast, and your only options are to run away. There's no camera to fight with, no proton packs, no nothing. Instead, you have to sneak past them and pray one doesn't find you.
Also, the game's first person view really adds to the tension here, because these ghosts just have to be near you. You don't have to see them, and likely you won't: as your heart rates goes up, your vision blacks out. It can be a harrowing experience to enter a room with one and suddenly scramble for the door, only to realize you can hardly see where you're going. And if you do see it, well...some of these things get downright creepy.
Still, ghosts register on film, so you can use the vast network of security cameras to watch their patterns and discover their routes, since most of them follow set paths. Note I said most: there's one ghost in particular that will stalk you throughout the game, and he knows when you're using a security camera. Whenever you look at him he's got a nasty habit of looking back at you.
[img width=635 height=445]http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2006/051/918908_20060221_790screen001.jpg[/img]
And then there's the atmosphere: you'll spend a good chunk of the game wandering around with just a flashlight, though it's not as bad as when you wander outside in my opinion. Once outside, there's little gravity so you jump really far, and the lighting gets a bit odd. The first time outside, I nearly threw myself off a cliff into a crater. To make matters worse, there are quite a few jumping puzzles while outside, and you do still have to look out for spirits.
The lack of action might bother some players, so this game definitely isn't meant for everyone. But if you're a fan of the old point-and-click adventure gameplay or enjoyed titles like Penumbra or other first person horror games, such as Juggernaut, D, or Hellnight, this may be right up your alley. And as an added bonus, it saw release in all three major regions, so getting it shouldn't be too difficult. Just be aware that in Japan it's known as Nebula: Echo Night.
[img width=635 height=445]http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/2006/051/918908_20060221_790screen002.jpg[/img]
Here's the intro for you:
I took my son to see Astro Boy over the weekend. He's only two, but ever since he saw the commercial for it on TV, "Astro Boy" are the only words that I've heard coming out of his mouth. He loved the movie, and my wife and I actually thought it turned out to be pretty decent. There was enough action to keep the kid happy, and enough humor to keep us amused. I've never watched the Astro Boy anime before, or read the manga, but I have played the Astro Boy: Omega Factor game for the Gameboy Advance. After watching the movie with my family this weekend, it totally gave me the itch to go back and play it again.
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Astro Boy was developed by treasure, which right off the bat should tell you its going to be fun. The game is mainly a side-scrolling, platforming, beat-em-up game, with some of the levels wandering off into the horizontal 'shmup category.
[img width=480 height=320]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/goteamventure85/astro.jpg[/img]
In the beat-em-up parts of the game, Astro Boy can punch and kick his way through enemies, as well as having the abilities to shoot a laser from his finger for ranged attacks, and being able to fire a machine gun that pops out of his butt to hit everything on screen. Yes, that's right, he has a machine gun stored in his butt. He IS a robot, so its not as disturbing as it sounds, but still... In the 'shmup parts of the game, Astro flies horizontally across the screen uses his laser finger as his primary attack. It's not the most in depth 'shmup gameplay ever, but it IS enjoyable. These segments keep the gameplay from becoming stale by offering up something different every once in a while.
[img width=620 height=417]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/goteamventure85/shooter.jpg[/img]
Yeah, it all sounds a little weird, but it actually fits in with the rest of the bizarre world this game takes places in. Astro Boy takes place in a world full of robots and talking animals, so machine gun butts sort of fit in. Astro Boy is a robot who was created in the image of his creator's dead son, and is treated more as a weapon than a sentient being. During the course of the game you fight terrorists, travel through time, fight aliens, and run the gauntlet against some fellow robo-sapiens. The story is a bit complicated, but I assume fans of the source material would probably love it. I wasn't totally sucked in by the story, but it was entertaining enough to keep me wondering what was going to happen next.
The tone of the game reminds me a lot of Megaman, which is one of my favorite game franchises ever. The side scrolling aspects are similar, and the characters share a lot of similarities, which was one of the things that drew me to the game in the first place.
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The graphics are bright and colorful, and the sprites are really fun to look at. Some of the enemies are just giant versions of the smaller guys, and they look a bit blocky, but they don't look horrible, just kind of out of place. The game does also suffer a bit of slowdown when there are tons of enemies on the screen. It is a bit annoying, but isn't necessarily game-breaking. It actually makes the game feel more retro to me, as most of my favorite games from the past also suffered from a little bit of slowdown. Remember Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts for the SNES? That was some hardcore slowdown!
Astro Boy: Omega factor is an enjoyable game, and was a real pleasure to play through again. It gets rather difficult near the end of the game, and presents a solid challenge for anyone who may be looking for an old school style beat-em-up. If you've been looking for something that plays like Mega Man meets Gunstar Heroes... meets a little bit of R-Type, then this game deserves your time.
Bubble Bobble is freaking great. I have loved Bubble Bobble since I was a wee gamer, playing in the arcade tent at the festival that ran in my neighborhood. The gameplay was simple enough for a little kid to pick up then, and is hard to master even now that I'm older. Snow Bros. is another game that I have fond memories of playing at the same arcade tent. The images of the little Snow dudes jumping around on platforms is something that has stuck in my memory for years.
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By chance today, I discovered a Neo Geo arcade game called Nightmare in the Dark. It looked interesting enough at first glance, with big, colorful sprites and amusing looking characters. After watching the game play on the screen for a bit though, I realized that this game played almost just like Bubble Bobble and Snow Bros! Some would maybe blow it off as a cheap knock-off because of that, but being the simple-arcade-platformer fan that I am, I knew that I had to play right away.
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Nightmare in the Dark puts you in the shoes of an old cemetery gravedigger. The story is pretty slim, and plays out through a simple narrative on the demo screen that tells you about how the gravedigger is an outcast in his town due to his fugliness. When shit goes down at the local cemetary however, he checks it out and becomes their hero. The dead have started to rise from their graves and its up to him to figure out why. Simple premise, but the story admittedly isn't the strong point here.
The addictive gameplay is what really makes this game a gem. Each level is set up with various platforms that are occupied by a variety of different enemies, including the standard zombie, fast little top-hat-wearing hunchbacks, flying ghosts, and crazy undead ostrich things that lunge at you from a distance.
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You are tasked with eliminating the various beasties by throwing magic fire stuff from your lantern at them, which freezes them in their steps. When you hit them with enough fire, they turn into a giant fireball that you can collect and toss at other enemies. When tossed, the fireballs will bounce off the walls a few times, annihilating whatever is in their way, before finally exploding and leaving behind a nice power-up for you to use. Power-ups consist of different potions that can upgrade your movement speed, the distance you can throw your magic fire, and the power of said magic fire.
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The gravedigger can only jump up to the platforms above him, and cannot drop down to a platform beneath him, which means that you have to use a bit of strategy in this game. The time limit, which starts at 99 seconds, also helps to ramp up the challenge. When the timer hits zero, an invulnerable pumpkin monster will chase you around the screen until he kills you dead.
The bosses in this game are a real treat for anyone who loves sprites. There is a Frankenstein monster that can summon grunt zombies, a huge mummy-head-car thing that has knives sticking out of its head, and a sorcerer who floats around the screen summoning TONS to raise the chaos level. The bosses can all usually be beat by hitting them with the giant fireballs made from the grunts that they summon, but some of these bosses can be quite challenging to actually hit.
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It took me about a half hour to forty five minutes, and about eight bucks in quarters, to play through to the end. There are roughly twenty five levels total, and it goes by pretty fast. The game does manage to present a fun challenge though, especially towards the end. Although the game is rather short, it has tons of replay value. This is the type of old school arcade game that is meant to be played over and over again, with the goal of achieving huge scores. I think I had a total score of around 500,000 when all was said and done, but I know that I could destroy that number in the future.
I would really recommend giving this one a shot if you ever get the chance. I had never heard of it before today, and am so glad that I found it. This game is a throwback to a time when games were fun and dangerously addicting, and achieving that high score was the most important thing in the world.
Looking for something a little quirkier to play on your Gamecube? Looking for something a bit out of the normal to play? Looking for a game that has a button that literally makes your character take a dump then and there? Then look no further, Cubivore is here.
[img width=338 height=481]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/cubivorecover.jpg[/img]
Continue reading Unloved #5: Cubivore
I recently went to the movie theater with my wife, my sister, and her boyfriend to check out the much hyped Paranormal Activity. We were going on a Saturday, so I knew that it was going to be packed. I didn't want to risk sitting in the front row, straining my neck to see what the hell was happening on the giant screen five feet from my face, so we resolved to get there about an hour early... which I guess wasn't early enough, seeing as the showing we were aiming for was sold out. We picked up tickets for the next showing that was like two hours from then, and went to go sit in line.
My wife and sister were pissed... My sister's boyfriend and I, on the other hand, knew that we would be fine, since the movie theater we were at had a great selection of arcade games to hold us over!
The first thing I saw when I walked into the arcade room nearly brought me to tears of joy. It was a House of the Dead 4 cabinet. I've been a huge House of the Dead, and rail shooter in general, fan for a long time, and have probably pumped more quarters into HOTD cabinets than any other, but I had never seen an actual House of the Dead 4 cabinet in person anywhere before. Needless to say, we cashed in some dollar bills, filled our pockets with quarters, and started 'sploding some zombie heads.
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The first thing that I noticed about this game was the awesome light gun. It is a big orange uzi that has some nice weight to it. The gun fires automatically, which is great considering how many zombies the game throws at you, and reloads as most light gun games do, by firing off-screen. There is a small button on the side of the gun that tosses grenades, which you have a limited supply of.
[img width=300 height=413]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/goteamventure85/HouseoftheDead4cabinet.jpg[/img]
House of the Dead has never really been known for its story, and the its the same old song and dance here. You play as some government agents or something, who are investigating an underground lab when they suddenly find the evidence they need, use it to prosecute the mad scientist they are looking for, and go home safely to their loving families...
No, actually they are attacked by zombies. Wouldn't that be something though? Nobody would have expected that from a game called House of the Dead 4. Sega should have thrown us the curve ball in my opinion.
This game throws TONS of zombies at you. Like, a million zombies. Maybe more than that. It's insane, but luckily you have a few cool tools at your disposal. If a zombie grabs hold of you, you can shake the gun up and down like a Wii-mote to throw them off. This tactic is even used in some boss fights, and makes for some rather tense situations. You can also be pushed down to the ground by enemies, which makes situations where you are being attacked by multiple enemies even more intense. You can also toss grenades at groups of enemies to help thin out some of larger zombie crowds.
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The enemies consist of your usual HOTD suspects, including normal zombies, big zombies, jumpy annoying zombies, projectile tossing zombies, weird swamp monstery zombies, flying bat creatures, and those annoying leech things. All pretty run of the mill stuff, but the game really shines during the boss fights. Now THESE are some bosses.
The bosses range from a giant, four-armed, Goro looking zombie that chases you through a sewer system, to a badass ghoul that assaults you in a train with a gigantic dual-sided chainsaw. There is even the token giant spider, which chases you up an elevator shaft! These guys really make the whole experience what it is. You feel a real sense of dread while fighting these guys, especially since its your quarters at stake!
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There are plenty of power-ups to be had, which can be found by shooting at secret areas throughout the stages. The setting of these stages changed up enough to keep me interested, and I never really get bored of my surroundings. The game even lets you choose your path at certain points, which should make for some interesting replay value if I ever get the chance to play it again.
We made it to the end of stage four on our play through, where we were killed by an obese titan of a zombie boss, that rolled into a ball to mush us into goo. Between the two of us, we probably spent at least $25 on the game, and really couldn't justify spending much more. It's not that we didn't want to, but as fun as the game was, we didn't want to empty our wallets on it.
The true fun-factor of this game comes from the overall experience. It literally takes you on a ride through various levels, ranging from an underground lab to a European city in ruins. The hordes of zombies popping out from everywhere, the terrifyingly huge bosses, and the camaraderie you feel with your fellow zombie hunter, all while frantically pumping quarters into the coin slot, sum up to create an exciting and unique experience.
House of the Dead 4 is such great interactive experience, and you owe yourself to try it out if you ever get the chance!
I love zombies. I'm dead serious. Like, I would actually dance a celebratory jig if a zombie apocalypse happened.
My fascination with zombies started way back when I was around three years old. Michael Jackson's Thriller video nearly terrified me into a coma at the time. It scared me so bad that I had recurring zombie nightmares well into grade school. As I got older I overcame my fear by watching Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead with some friends, and I've been obsessed with zombie pop-culture ever since.
Needless to say, if you put a zombie in a video game, I'll probably play it. Zombies Ate my Neighbors took up all of my free time when I was a kid, House of the Dead is one of my all time favorite games, and Left 4 Dead and Call of Duty: World at War's zombie maps have given me endless hours of entertainment. I'm always on the lookout for new zombie games, and have even recently decided to pick up Dead Rising for the Xbox 360.
Going through my collection of dust covered DS games that have been neglected worse than the Jon and Kate Plus 8 kids, I came across two games that I should have no excuse for not having played through to the end. The first one is called Touch the Dead.
[img width=441 height=400]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/goteamventure85/ttd.jpg[/img]
Weird name, right? This game is an on-rails shooter that plays a lot like House of the Dead, which as mentioned before, is one of my all time favorite games. It obviously doesn't support a light gun, and instead takes advantage of the touch screen. You shoot by using the stylus to tap your zombie attackers, and reload by dragging a clip across the screen to your gun.
It's actually a lot more challenging than it sounds, and gets chaotic when you are being attacked by multiple enemies of different types. Some just shamble up to you and take a swing, while others are can be more aggressive. There are huge zombies that deal a bit more damage, and even some that will toss there heads at you. You are forced to decide which ones to attack first, as tapping and reloading takes more time than you would think, and you have to be quick to dispatch of them in the right order lest you have your face eaten.
[img width=256 height=385]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/goteamventure85/ttdscreen.jpg[/img]
The story is kind of meh, but the atmosphere did keep me intrigued. The main character, Rob Steiner, not to be confused with Rob Schneider of Deuce Bigalow fame, is sitting in a prison cell when his cell door suddenly opens up. Like any sane criminal would, he decides to cheese it on out of there. He is greeted by a bunch of empty cells and a few prison guards that have a hankering for brains. The game does a good job of maintaining a creepy feel, as the place feels totally deserted, and just when you start to get comfortable a maggot ridden corpse jumps at the screen.
The graphics are reminiscent of the blocky stuff that we used to see on the Sega Saturn, but they don't make the game unplayable by any means. If you are a graphics whore then it would probably be pretty bothersome, but otherwise it doesn't take away from an overall fun game.
[img width=256 height=385]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/goteamventure85/ttdscreen2.jpg[/img]
In the end, I had a blast with this game. It gets very challenging as it goes on and I honestly had a hard time putting it down, even after dying a few times. The game is a bit short overall, but its perfect for a portable console like the DS. There are enough secrets and hidden power-ups to keep someone interested for a while. This one is definitely worth checking out, especially if you are a House of the Dead fan.
The next game that I played may have an even weirder title. Little Red Riding Hood's Zombie BBQ. Let that one sink in.
[img width=500 height=500]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/goteamventure85/zombiebbq.jpg[/img]
Little Red Riding Hood's Zombie BBQ is a vertical shooter that uses touch screen controls to shoot and dodge incoming enemies. You control either Little Red Riding Hood, who totes a machine gun, much like B.B. Hood from Darkstalkers, or her friend Momotaro, a Japanese folk hero who shoots ninja stars out of a gun... Yeah, it is as awesome as it sounds.
Enemies attack from the top of the screen and you mow them down with bullets by holding the stylus in the direction you want to shoot. You reload by lifting the stylus from the screen and pressing it back down. There is also a grenade launcher that has limited use and can be fired by quickly double tapping the screen. Your character can move horizontally across the bottom of the screen between seven positions. Your enemies will attack from the top of the screen and you can either use the d-pad to move left or right to an adjacent square, or you can tap any square to quickly move to it in order to dodge attacks. You can also duck under some attacks by tapping your character.
[img width=256 height=384]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/goteamventure85/zbbqbasic.jpg[/img]
Enemies vary between slow shuffling zombies, head tossing ghouls, huge rotting monsters that explode into a shower of corrosive goo, and evil toy soldiers that fire continuous lasers. There are explosive barrels and crates full of power-ups to help you fight the zombie hordes. Power-ups include flamethrowers, shotguns, which have short range but pack a huge punch, and lasers that rip through enemies to hit any that may be behind them.
The boss battles are by far the best part of the game, and include battles against Red Riding Hood's possessed grandma, a gigantic zombified Gretel, of Hansel and Gretel fame, and a giant evil Pinocchio who throws his head at you. These battles involve a lot of strategy, and you have to get the bosses' complex patterns down right in order to avoid being demolished.
[img width=256 height=384]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/goteamventure85/gretel.jpg[/img]
The graphics are really fun and remind me of the old Neo-Geo and Capcom shooters, but with some enemies rendered in 3D, and with 3D rendered backgrounds. The enemies are big and colorful, and help to increase the overall fun factor of the game.
I personally had a lot of fun with this game. If you like retro styled vertical shooters such as the old G.I. Joe arcade game, or if you are just a fan of zombies in general, you need to give this game a shot. It is a fun little game that doesn't fail to entertain.
Happy hunting!
The year is 2049 and Humans have left Earth looking to colonize other planets. While gone they have left Orbots behind to clean up pollution and litter for when they return. A high-ranking Orbot becomes insane after accidentally becoming attached to a nuclear missile. He changes his name to Warhead and declares himself ruler of the Earth then begins preparation to exterminate Humans should they return to claim the Earth from him.
[img width=468 height=338]http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk189/Crabmaster2000/vectormantitle.jpg[/img]
Enter Vectorman.....
Continue reading Off The Shelf - Vectorman
As most of you know RFGen is run and supported by volunteers. We dedicate our time and efforts to the site solely because we enjoy it. We are a non-profit organization... well actually we make negative profit, -$85 a month to be exact for the server costs. The entire year up until this past month the site has survived solely on donations. Well those funds have run dry, so now we are asking our faithful community to step up again and help support the site.
As always, 100% of donations will go to covering the server costs. Any funding for contests and prizes that we offer will be provided by the staff. Your money will go directly into supporting the operation of the site. We will continue to strive to keep the site ad-free and community funded for as long as we can, and with the generous donations of our members in the past we have been able to continue to do so. Every little bit helps, so don't worry if you can't donate as much, especially in these hard times. If you're a new donor, be sure to PM myself or one of the other staff so we can give you "donor" status on the forums.
We'll keep you posted on the status of the donation drive. We really appreciate the support the entire community has given us in the past and want to thank all of you in advance for your generous support. Without all of you, this site would not exist and be what it is today.
You can follow this link to make a donation.
It's been several weeks since the last post, and I'm going to call it, the 2009 garage sale season is dead. At least around here, maybe in the more mild climates, people are still selling their junk but the cold wind and dropping leaves has brought death to garage sales and the flea markets around here.
So here is my treasures from a while ago, I don't even remember when I bought all this stuff, so it's a good thing I wrote each item up when I got instead of trying to do it now. I haven't bought anything in the past two weeks, mainly because I didn't even go saling these last few weekends.
There will be one more of these this year, sometime is December to account for any unexpected finds, and to give a recap on what I thought was this year's best finds.
Continue reading Treasure Hunt Chronicles '09 - #24
Some more progress on the garage over a long 4 day weekend. I managed to do some more clearing out and teardown of some old arcade cabs.
Before
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I picked these cabs up from a carwash garage (Free). All are in various states of disrepair and had lots of weather damage.
Carnage and kept goods.
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[img width=319 height=240]http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss53/Edstu234/pic36.jpg[/img]
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After
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I plan on cutting the sideart down alittle bit in size and using it as wallart. The controls, pcbs, token doors, token boxes will be used at some point in the future.
Booty
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I collect arcade tokens and tearing apart old machines lead's to a few tokens.
Warmth
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This came from my boss and should take some of the chill off the garage.
Lots more to come on this long process.
I've been trying to pay more attention to my Nintendo DS lately. I have so many games for it and my GBA, some still in the shrink wrap, and it just feels wrong to let them sit in a shoebox to collect dust. I went through them yesterday and picked a few that I would try to commit to playing through. I love gaming, but I hate when a game starts to feel like work. There's nothing worse than getting half way through a game to find that its just boring and feels like a chore to play.
I decided to start playing Dragonball: Origins, and was really hoping it would make me want to play all the way through. I wasn't quite sure what I would think of it when I started, but I am happy to say that I am really enjoying it so far.
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I was a big fan of the original Dragon Ball back when it first aired in America. I remember it being on something like the WB, and they only aired a few episodes from the first season. I had never seen any anime before, and it really captured my attention as a kid. There was something really charming about the characters, and I enjoyed the weird relationship between Goku and Bulma.
Goku is a weird little kid with a monkey tail and super strength. He rides on a sentient flying cloud and carries an extendable staff. The odd little dude is loosely based on the Chinese folk character Sun Wukong from Journey to the West. Goku is out training one day when he encounters a teenage girl named Bulma, who is in search of the legendary Dragon Balls. If someone finds all seven of them, they get a wish, and it just so happens that Goku has one.
[img width=320 height=240]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/goteamventure85/gokuandbulma.jpg[/img]
I was into Dragonball Z as a teenager (who wasn't?), but in my opinion it never really recaptured the magic that Dragonball had. It was too angsty and I got sick of hearing about aliens and "power levels". The original Dragonball was the bees knees as far as I'm concerned.
Dragonball: Origins plays similar to Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass, using touchscreen controls to move and attack. You can use the d-pad to control Goku, which is a nice option, but I found myself just moving him around with the stylus. You place the stylus where you want to move to, and tap nearby enemies to attack them. There's a stronger dash attack, which is initiated by placing the stylus on him and then quickly sliding it towards the enemies you want to attack.
Goku also has an extending staff (giggity) which he can use to attack enemies or smash rocks that may be in his path. There is a window at the bottom of the screen that can be tapped to quickly equip the staff, and it comes in handy depending on which types of enemies you are facing off against. The staff has a sweeping attack that can be used by placing the stylus on Goku, sliding it out in front of him, and sweeping it towards the group you are attacking.
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Goku has a dodge move which can be done by quickly tapping where you want to roll to, and apparently it becomes a teleport if done right before an enemy attack. I can never get the timing right on the teleport, but I'm sure it will get easier after doing it a few times. Hell, I just learned how to pull of a shoryuken in Street Fighter, and I've been playing those games for years. I could only do them on accident before...
The cutscenes are really enjoyable, especially if you were into the show. They keep me wanting to play just so I can see how closely the shows story will be followed. Considering I'm not the worlds biggest anime fan, and was into the show more than ten years ago, Dragonball: Origins has me hooked. I'm about two hours in and it has done a lot to compel me to keep playing.
I'll try to play through it this weekend so that I can get a more solid impression, and then maybe I can write a proper review.
Slapped on some primer and a couple coats of paint. Just waiting for those damn boards to get in.
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Silent Hill
I figured for the first one of these, I'd post a mainstay to the horror genre. If you're a fan of survival horror, I feel that you must try this game. I'm not going to say it's perfect(no game is), but what Silent Hill did was absolutely phenomenal. I've seen it referred to as "the scariest game of all time", and I feel this title still holds true today. Even if one absolutely detests the game, it should be easy to see the positive impact on the genre. Today the Silent Hill series is one of the two most easily recognized series in survival horror(the other being Resident Evil, of course).
Here's a very brief plot analysis:
"The plot focuses on Harry Mason as he searches for his daughter, Cheryl, who has disappeared following a car accident which left Harry unconscious. He finds Silent Hill to be largely abandoned, shrouded in a thick fog, snowing out of season, filled with monsters and being over taken by a hellish otherworld. As Harry scours the town, he begins learning about the history of Silent Hill and stumbles upon a cult ritual undertaken to bring a God to Earth."
Silent Hill plays entirely from a third-person perspective, with a mix of pre-set and controllable camera angles, depending on the location. Through certain sections of the game, Harry's flashlight is the only lighting, but this has a double effect of also attracting monsters. A radio that Harry has emits static whenever a monster is near, serving as the only means to know when something is approaching.
And then there's the other world. The only real way to describe it is Hell on Earth. There's all kinds of disturbing imagery and audio. To add to it, the developers were influenced and made reference to many other works of horror, fantasy, music, literature, film, and so on. Here's Wikipedia's list of influences and references:
* The surname of Lisa Garland is taken from the actress Judy Garland, Cheryl Mason's first name is based on Twin Peakss actress Sheryl Lee, Michael Kaufmann is a combination of Troma Studios producers' Lloyd Kaufmann and Michael Herz and both Alessa (originally named Asia) and Dahlia (originally named Daria) are names derived from relatives (daughter and former wife respectively) of Italian filmmaker Dario Argento.
* On the side of a garage door near the gas station is painted in blood with the word "REDRUM" painted on it in reference to The Shining.
* Some of the creatures and puzzles were named or designed with the books Alessa was fond of in mind, such as The Lost World and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
* The names originally intended for the characters of Harry and Cheryl were "Humbert" and "Dolores," the narrator and title character of Lolita. The American staff altered the names, given that the names were uncommon.
* At the beginning of the game there is a sign that says Bates Motel, which is a reference to Norman Bates' motel from Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film Psycho.
* In "normal" version of the Midwich Elementary School one can find a list of teachers. The teachers listed are K.Gordon, T. Moore, L. Ranaldo, and S. Shelley. These names all refer to Kim Gordon, Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo, and Steve Shelley of the rock band Sonic Youth.
* The names of the streets are taken from various science fiction and horror novels or writers, such as Bradbury Street, Bachman Road, Matheson Street, and Midwich Street. These refer to Ray Bradbury, Richard Bachman, Richard Matheson, and The Midwich Cuckoos.
[img width=480 height=360]http://www.psu.com/media/articles/psu_champions_silenthill/silent_hill_1.jpg[/img]
Not bad for a game that was labeled a "Resident Evil clone" before its release. And while it did borrow a few things from Resident Evil in terms of gameplay(which had in turn borrowed from Alone in the Dark), its themes were its own and what it added to the Resident Evil formula helped distance it from the pack of RE-wannabes. Gone were the days of playing a well-trained police officer fighting with superior firepower against an enemy that has, frankly, become campy and overused. Instead, you play an everyman character, someone not proficient with a gun, or able to sprint long distances. Just an average guy.
Also gone was the setting, a plague of science run amok in the real world, something that could be blown away to restore the normal order. In Silent Hill we begin questioning what normal really meant. The trouble in Silent Hill couldn't be shot, stabbed, or beaten to death, because the trouble was with reality. This was normalcy in Silent Hill, at least in our heads. And while the creatures Harry encountered could be killed, there's some suggestion in the series that they weren't monsters at all, depending on who looked at them. And perhaps that's the biggest difference between the two:
Resident Evil gets in your blood. Silent Hill violates your mind.
Please, take a moment and check out the intro:
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